Arcane Sequence: 1994: Never Stop Running... (WLW)

Chapter One: West Palm Beach, Florida, May 25th, 1994

Kirah Turner squinted at the West Palm Beach morning sun cascading into her room through the blinds she always forgot to shut and rolled over onto her side, coming face to face with Tina, her Collie. She expelled a huff of breath and felt her face flood with the enthusiasm every new dawn met with her best friend brought. Tina woke at the sound of her exhale and yawned, then made her way over to her chest, burying her face there. As Kirah stroked her fur and received a few gleeful licks along her cheeks in return, she giggled and thought of what her day would bring, suddenly feeling her high spirits drop.

It was a Wednesday, which meant she had one particular client with whom to work this morning and this time her sigh was not out of contentment. Rather, it was out of annoyance, which was a feeling none truly enjoyed, yet plagued Kirah by its source. She pictured her client and sat up, crossing her legs and placing her hands into her lap. As soon as she had, Tina sat up and began panting in her face, immediately distracting her from her inner turmoil.

As a smile flooded her face when glancing at her Collie, she hopped out of bed and reached her arms high overhead. "Time to stretch, Tina." Her dog leapt down from the bed and got into a downward-facing dog position, making her snort. After finishing her morning bedside routine, Kirah pat her hip and Tina followed her out of her room into the kitchen. "You hungry, girl?"

Tina gave what Kirah always interpreted as a doggy cheer and heavily leaned against her hip as she made it to the cupboard. She pulled the doggy dish and scoop from the top shelf, then opened the bottom. There sat a large tub of dog food and she put several scoops into Tina's bowl, then set it onto the floor. The dog sat in front of it so obediently, waiting for her to give the command, then dove in the moment she did.

After petting her head and returning to her room alone, Kirah began picking out her clothing for the day, then recalled that she and some friends were meeting up after their shift at the hospital. Choosing something nice, she suddenly remembered what would lead to them eventually having a night out, all the work of a typical Wednesday, and sighed. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she contemplated the single reason why she'd grown to dread working on this specific day of the week yet again.

About three months ago, a cop was brought into the ER and she was shot in her lower left shoulder causing nerve damage. She was also wounded in the calf, though it was only a semi-deep graze that had more than healed by this point. However, her shoulder wound was an entirely different story.

Due to the nerve damage, the narcotics detective had received multiple surgeries and was now in good health, but needed quite a bit of physical therapy. She met with Kirah every Wednesday at around nine-forty-five AM and the woman had a serious mouth on her. Her name was Berenice Marino, but everyone who visited her while she was still in the hospital called her Berry or Bear. From their first meeting, Kirah would have believed she was a kind and cordial person, but she was severely wrong.

Berry had a way of talking that put many people off, though it wasn't Kirah's job to judge someone. Her job was to rehabilitate her and her therapy work was something she'd strived to perfect even before she graduated high school, much less college. It was also a feat which Berry made very, very difficult, prompting her to question if she really had learned enough in her university halfway across the country in her home state. The fact that this woman was so intrusive, even challenging her very profession, and saw entirely too much was off-putting. It was downright hazardous to Kirah's desire of keeping herself distant from her clients and many others for that matter.

As Kirah remained in her thoughts and shed her pajama shirt, she heard Tina huffing as she made her way into the bedroom once again. The creak of her mattress springs echoed toward her and she smirked at Tina's clockwork slumber atop her bed after eating breakfast. Still, her mind reeled with thoughts of Berry. Just why does she have to make everything so...difficult? Am I really that hard to be around? No longer desiring her thoughts soured, Kirah shook her head clear and focused on getting dressed, humming a tune as she readied herself for work.